The SF Giants overcame a four-run deficit and still lost in a wild, back-and-forth game at Wrigley Field

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San Francisco Giants’ Evan Longoria (10) celebrates with Scooter Gennett at home plate after Longoria hit a two-run home run during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, Aug 21, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

San Francisco Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez delivers a pitch during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, Aug 21, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Yu Darvish (11) of the Chicago Cubs hits a single in the second inning against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field on Aug. 21, 2019, in Chicago. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Dereck Rodriguez (57) of the San Francisco Giants pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Aug. 21, 2019, in Chicago. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

San Francisco Giants’ Austin Slater watches his two-run double during the sixth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, Aug 21, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

San Francisco Giants’ Kevin Pillar, right, celebrates with Brandon Belt (9) at home plate after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, Aug 21, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

San Francisco Giants’ Evan Longoria (10) is congratulated by manager Bruce Bochy left, at the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Wednesday, Aug 21, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Dereck Rodriguez (57) of the San Francisco Giants pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Aug. 21, 2019, in Chicago. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

CHICAGO — No pitcher is invincible, no fence is too far and no lead is safe.

Throw out any preconceived notion that the San Francisco Giants can’t slug it with the rest of the league, too. Hitting the ball out of the park, however, doesn’t guarantee their desired result.

For the second time on their road trip, the Giants rode the home run seesaw in the type of high-scoring affair that used to be exclusive to Coors Field.

Instead of playing 5,000 feet above sea level, the Giants and Cubs found a similar result 500 feet up in a 12-11 Giants (63-64) defeat on Wednesday that would have been considered an instant classic in the first 104 years of Wrigley Field.

These days, it’s par for the course in a game where every hitter can drive the green.

“You get that many runs, that kind of production, those are games we’ve been winning,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “This one got away from us.”

Four Giants hit home runs and six pitchers took the mound in a game that showcased how the sport has fundamentally changed over the last several seasons. Starter Dereck Rodríguez lasted four innings and allowed six runs to the Cubs, but he was far from the only Giants pitcher to struggle with containing his opponent.

“This was a night where it didn’t matter for each team who came on the mound, it was going to be an absolute struggle,” catcher Stephen Vogt said.

Reliever Trevor Gott allowed four hits and three runs while recording just one out and set-up man Reyes Moronta blew a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth before retiring a batter.

“Our (bullpen) just had a rough night,” Bochy said. “That’s the bottom line.”

With the Giants ahead 11-10, Moronta gave up the go-ahead, two-run home run to Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant that became the decisive hit in Wednesday’s game.

Evan Longoria, Kevin Pillar, Mike Yastrzemski and Vogt all homered in the game’s first six innings, but the Giants spent the final three outs waiting for one more big hit to even a critical series against the Cubs.

Against Chicago closer Craig Kimbrel, that hit never came.

“It’s a frustrating loss for us, a great win for them,” Vogt said. “It seemed like whoever was going to get to hit last was going to win.”

San Francisco scored five runs in the sixth inning including two against former Giants pitcher Derek Holland, but right fielder Austin Slater committed a crucial base running mistake after drilling a go-ahead double down the right field line.

Slater was thrown out trying to move from second to third on a throw to the plate, potentially costing the Giants a chance to add on.

“Slater had a big hit, that was huge,” Bochy said. “He gets thrown out there. That slowed down that rally. It’s just little things in a game like that.”

In the bottom of the inning, reliever Tony Watson induced what could have been an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play, but Watson had trouble gripping a slow comebacker hit by Kyle Schwarber and the Cubs brought home a run.

As the days pass and the short outings from their young starting pitchers continue to tax an already overworked bullpen, one of the Giants’ primary offseason objectives has come into sharp focus.

Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, Farhan Zaidi must build a stronger starting rotation.

The Giants’ first-year president of baseball operations has earned high marks for his ability to upgrade the margins of the roster, acquiring impact outfielders such as Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson and key role players including Vogt and Donovan Solano.

What the Giants have yet to do is create the type of starting pitching depth that Zaidi amassed during his tenure as the Los Angeles Dodgers general manager.

The team’s younger starters –including Rodríguez– have all experienced growing pains that have cost the team ground in a Wild Card race in which it now sees a 5.5-game deficit.

“It was a big disappointment,” Rodríguez said. “Last time it was a really good outing and I feel like this one was the polar opposite.”

Veterans Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija have done their part to keep San Francisco afloat, but when neither starter takes the mound, the Giants have taken on water. Since the All-Star break, the club’s starters have posted a 4.34 ERA, which ranks 10th in baseball. But after removing the innings thrown by Bumgarner and Samardzija, the rotation’s ERA plummets to 5.84, a figure that would rank 25th in the majors.

A juiced baseball has made adjusting to the highest level an even harsher challenge for inexperienced starters, but the lack of meaningful progress from a large crop of young arms should compel the front office to enter the offseason with a thorough plan of attack.

The price tag for Bumgarner will be hefty and the temptation to offload Samardzija’s salary via trade will be strong, but the Giants would clearly be weaker if either starter is off the roster next season. Even with the exciting potential of prospects such as Logan Webb and Sean Hjelle and the impending return of veteran Johnny Cueto, the Giants will have a hard time convincing fans they expect to contend without adding more pitchers capable of recording 15-to-21 outs in a game.

Kerry Crowley is a multimedia beat reporter covering the San Francisco Giants. He spent his early days throwing curveballs in San Francisco’s youth leagues before studying journalism at Arizona State University. Kerry has covered every level of baseball, from local preps to the Cape Cod League, and is now on a quest to determine which Major League city serves the best cheeseburger.